Lip Tie In Babies
Although not painful or harmful, a lip tie may influence your baby’s quality of life. Lip tie does not allow the baby’s upper lip to move fully, making it difficult for a child to feed and talk. Fortunately, most lip ties, particularly when addressed early in life, are simple to correct.
The piece of tissue is called the frenulum behind your upper lip. They can prevent the upper lip from moving freely when these membranes are too dense or too steep. This condition is called a lip tie.
Lip tie was not researched as much as tongue tie, but lip ties and tongue ties treatments are very comparable. Tongue tie with lip tie can make it difficult for babies to breastfeed and in some cases cause babies to have weight gaining problems.
Lip ties are less prevalent than a disease comparable to (and sometimes co-occurring): tongue tie. There is a reason to think that genes are the lip ties and tongue ties.
For babies, lip tie is not dangerous as long as they gain weight according to the guidelines of their pediatrician. But it is easy to correct the lip tie once it has been diagnosed.
Causes of Lip Tie in Babies
There is no specific cause of lip tie occurring in babies. Quite simply, while others are not, some babies are born with a lip tie. In the womb itself, the condition of a lip tie may develop. While most experts believe this could only be attributed to genetics, this theory has never been proven.
Symptoms of Lip Tie in Babies
Breastfeeding difficulty is one of the most common indications that your child may have lip tie or tongue tie. The symptoms are:
- Struggling with breast latching
- Breathing difficulty while feeding
- Click the sound while you are nursing
- During nursing, you often fall asleep
- Acting extremely tired by nursing
- Lack of weight gain
- Colic
If a child has a lip tie and you are a mother who is breastfeeding, you might experience:
- pain during or after breastfeeding
- Breasts that feel swallowed immediately after nursing
- Milk ducts or mastitis blocked
- Breastfeeding tiredness constantly even though your kid never seems to be complete
Complications
Babies with serious tongue tie or serious lip tie may have weight gaining problems. If this makes it simpler for your child to get nourishment, you may need to complement breastfeeding with formula or breast milk fed from a bottle.
Babies with serious lip or tongue tie may continue to have trouble eating from a spoon or eating finger foods.
Lip tie does not have as many complications later in life. Some pediatricians think that an untreated lip tie can lead to a greater probability of tooth decay for infants.
How does Lip Tie look like in a young child
A lip tie may be categorized according to its severity. It is based on the density and magnitude of the tie itself in this situation.
- Class one of the lip tie has no important attachment
- In Class two lip ties are mainly connected to the gums.
- Class 3 lip ties are connected to the region where teeth will develop in the future.
- In Class four lip ties are the most serious and linked to the mouth’s palate.
Diagnosis
A lip tie is diagnosed through a physical examination. Most pediatric experts can diagnose a lip tie depending on their appearance. But it is perfect to consult with a lactation expert certified by the global lactation board. You can also visit an orthodontist who specializes in infant dentistry for lip tie diagnosis and severity.
Treatment
Lip tie is handled by monitoring the severity of their situation and seeing how the feeding of your baby is influenced. Most physicians suggest that you do not go to early-age lip tie children for further therapy if they can breastfeed usually. Doctors frequently suggest a lip tie reversal after the child develops teeth. If the feeding is very severely impaired, then before his teeth grow, you can opt for lip tie reversal surgery. In fact, the method to reverse lip tie is quite easy and it takes only a few minutes to finish.
What happens in the Lip Tie Reversal Procedure?
If your doctor recommends surgery for the lip tie, there is no need to panic as the surgery is quite easy and fast. You will need to sit on a dentist’s chair during the surgery and keep your baby in a place that the physicians can access your kid throughout the operation. The doctor will then apply an infant-friendly anesthetic or numbing agent. They will use an accuracy laser after about 30 seconds to cut the lip tie and then the operation is finished. Remember to consult the doctor on post-op care for pain relief and post-procedure exercises.
A lip tie can challenge nursing and create weight gain problems in newborn children. This condition is not difficult to detect and is easy to treat with the help of your pediatrician and lactation consultant.
Remember that breastfeeding is not meant to be an unpleasant experience that hurts you. Talk to your child’s pediatrician about any worries you may have about nursing or weight gain for your child.
Also Read: Why Do Babies Smile In Their Sleep?
